I feel stupid - a question I probably shouldn't have to ask (Synth1)

[TheyMightBeTruants]

Okay. So, like any good newbie to this software, I read the tutorial about softsynths, understood some of it, and began to twist knobs and push buttons at random until it made sense.

Only, experimentation without feedback doesn't work too well, right?

Thus, a question that I will no doubt soon feel even more stupid for asking once I get the obvious...

[screenshot removed]

What do I click to make the goddamned synth play something?

[zircon]

You need to load it up in a sequencer and write notes, or play a keyboard connected to that channel in your sequencer.

[TheyMightBeTruants]

At the risk of sounding even more stupid (too late), how exactly does loading it up to a sequencer work?

EDIT. Synth1 has disappeared from REAPER entirely. Find that first...

EDIT EDIT: Never miiind. Figured it out. Thanks for the nudge in the right direction. *Cries in corner for not having gotten it earlier*

[zircon]

You would need to read the manual of your sequencer of choice. In this case, REAPER. And you already have it loaded, judging by the screenshot. Now you need to figure out how to write MIDI notes... that sort of information should be available, again, from the supplemental help material of REAPER. I don't know the software myself so I can't help you there.

[Yoozer]

What do I click to make the goddamned synth play something?

This only works with synthesizers which have an on-screen keyboard.

It's good that you started with software, instead of diving in the hardware world: I mean, you'd feel a lot more ripped off if you got home with this and couldn't get sounds out of it:

The concept is that of a remote and a TV; without a remote, you can't do more than switching channels.

[TheyMightBeTruants]

Heh, yeah. My prior experience was with Garage Band (which has an onscreen keyboard) for Macs. It's much easier to start with but it already does less than I've done with this stuff just playing with a synthesizer.